Iranian Revolution : Structural Factors/Influences
Your essay (maximum 1,250 words – about 5 pages double spaced 12 point) should do the following:
Take a position on whether the revolution was the product primarily of structural or voluntarist factors; or both (in which case you need to specify the contribution of each to the outcome).
Provide specific and concrete evidence for both structural and voluntarist positions. What evidence exists that the revolution was rooted in structural and voluntarist factors? Why is one side more convincing than the other? If both are important, what is the evidence that each makes a contribution to the outcome?
Outline for paper:
The paper should follow the outline below.
First paragraph (about 100 words) should include the following:
Restatement of main question. Summary of your central argument and main evidence.
Part I (about 500 words):
Summary of argument (voluntarist or structural) that you think works less well in explaining your revolution. Description of evidence that supports this argument. What are the strengths of this perspective? What are its limitations?
Part II: (about 600 words):
Summary of argument (structural or voluntarist) you think better explains the revolution. Description of evidence that supports this argument. What does this perspective tell you that the other one does not?
No conclusion is necessary.
In the paper, you should cite at least four separate sources. These cites MUST include a page number and will not be counted otherwise.
Advice on paragraph construction:
Paragraphs should have a clear focus and point that is clear in the first sentence of the paragraph. Everything in that paragraph should relate in an obvious way to the subject sentence. Anyone should be able to skim/understand the paper by reading only the first paragraph of the paper and the first sentence of each subsequent paragraph.
You should avoid paragraphs that (a) have multiple unrelated points in them; and (b) are longer than 150-200 words (1/2 to ¾ of a page)
Other notes about paper:
Avoid opening sentences that make broad claims about the universe (e.g., “All people in the world want freedom from hunger”). Your opening sentences should get right to the point about the question you address in the paper and your central claims.
Avoid colloquial words you would use in conversation but not in a writing assignment.
Include your name and student number
Include page numbers
Include citations (with page numbers) for every factual claim
The following criteria will be used to assess your final paper:
Opening paragraph – 25% of the grade
Is the main question the author is trying to ask made clear in the first few sentences?
Do the explanatory variables included in the thesis refer to specific events/factors that you can easily understand? (Examples of a thesis statement that is NOT precise is: “The Russian revolution was caused by structural factors” – the statement must refer to specific structural factors)
Is the thesis falsifiable? In other words, is it easy to imagine specific types of evidence that would contradict the claim made by the author?
Paragraph structure – 20%
Is there any paragraph longer than ¾ of a page?
If you ONLY read the first sentence of each paragraph is the paper easy to follow/understand?
Do all of the sentences in each paragraph relate directly to the first sentence of that paragraph?
Argument/Evidence – 40%
Does the author provide specific evidence for a voluntarist perspective? Does the evidence relate in an obvious way to the argument presented?
Does the author provide specific evidence for a structural perspective? ? Does the evidence relate in an obvious way to the argument presented?
Citations and grammar: 15%
Does the author give specific references to support all claims including page numbers?
Are there the required number of sources in the paper?
Are there more than 2 or 3 spelling or grammatical errors?
